Jetrader - Summer 2018 - 14

In terms of the overall context of the five-year plan, we are right where
we need to be...so that the company is in position to generate free cash
flow that can be used to reinvest and enhance programs going forward.
Jetrader: There have been plenty of unexpected shifts in the market and bumps in
the road along the way, but can you offer
any insight into the company's progress
on its five-year turnaround plan?
FC: Well, I think we're a big piece of
that plan. When I joined Alain Bellemare
in the spring of 2015, one of the first things
that we did - and subsequent members
who joined the team were tasked with
this as well - was to ask how to implement a five-year turnaround plan that really
starts to create value at Bombardier. We
really developed that in three phases:
de-risking, deleveraging and then maximizing the benefits that we have in terms of
execution. And we're halfway through the
program, as a company, as Bombardier Inc.
And I would say that for the commercial
aircraft group, this is also true. We have
accomplished de-risking by building the
backlog in our program and by advancing
the CSeries in the marketplace through certification, which was still in front of us at
that time. It's through additional enhancements and improvements to the order book
for the programs and specifically the CSeries
and then with the Airbus partnership.
In terms of the overall context of the
five-year plan, we are right where we need
to be on the path with the de-risking phase
and contributing what we need to contribute in the deleveraging phase so that the
company is in position to generate free
cash flow that can be used to reinvest and
enhance programs going forward.
Jetrader: As part of Bombardier's continued evolution, how much of a focus
are you placing on growth in Asia, and
what unique challenges are you facing
in that market?
FC: I think Asia is in everybody's plan
right now. It's the fastest growing market, and there's a lot of opportunity there,
whether it's in China or other areas. We've
seen a lot of opportunity and turned a lot of
that opportunity into real, tangible orders.
I would point to SpiceJet as an example,
using the Q400 to bring connectivity to
larger cities to communities that have

had very little or no air service. Philippine
Airlines is another example on the Q400.
They're another operator that's got a
diverse population to serve with all of the
island communities - lots of opportunity
there, and we're taking advantage of that.
And then specifically in China to be consistent with the Chinese objective of moving to the West, developing the interior,
creating connectivity with some of those
interior communities, they've done what
they need to do in terms of building the
infrastructure. Now it's about populating
that infrastructure with aircraft and specifically with airplanes that can provide
feed. We have a great example there with
China Express, one of our larger CRJ operators in the region. They're demonstrating
what the CRJ in that size category can
do in terms of creating connectivity for
the interior Chinese market. It definitely
continues to be an opportunity. It's going
to continue to be a growing market and
something that not only are we anticipating more opportunities there, we're taking
advantage of today.
Jetrader: Looking westward, in 2016
Delta became the first U.S.-based carrier for the CSeries when they ordered
75 CS100s with an option for additional

14 The official publication of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading

aircraft. Is the U.S. a region where you
see Bombardier aggressively targeting
additional growth?
FC: I think the entire North American
market presents great opportunities for
the CSeries aircraft. We have a very large
installed customer base on CRJs, so we
know a lot of the airlines in the North
American region very well as customers. Being able to introduce the CSeries,
its economic capabilities and passenger comfort is part of the momentum
that I speak about, because people are
paying attention.
And you mentioned Delta, but let's not
forget Air Canada, who stepped into the
program and many people didn't give it
the credit it deserved because they viewed
it as more of a friends-and-family deal in
Canada to support the hometown team.
That couldn't be further from the truth.
The team at Air Canada is very sophisticated. They've got a well-established fleetplanning organization, and they understand
that making the right aircraft choice can
be a game changer for their airline. All you
have to do is point to Ben Smith, the president of their airline, and hear what he talks
about in terms of what the CSeries is going
to do for their network. It has tremendous
capability and coast-to-coast performance,

Jetrader - Summer 2018

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